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First U.S. School for Disabled Students
After meeting the deaf daughter of Dr. Mason Fitch Cogswell, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet created the first school for deaf individuals in the United States. He traveled to France to educate himself on the practices of educating deaf children and returned with a deaf teacher to assist him in his endeavors. In1817, he opened his school in Hartford, Connecticut. -
Creation of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
Formerly known as the American Association on Mental Retardation, Edouard Seguin, M.D. founded the world's oldest professional organization devoted to intellectual disability. Today, the AAIDD’s purposes include:
• researching intellectual disabilities
• increasing social awareness
• promoting progressive governmental policy
• supporting families
• developing rehabilitative strategies -
School Becomes Compulsory in All States
By 1918, all 50 states, following the lead of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, required attendance in public schools or authorized alternatives by children within specific age ranges. Other components of attendance laws included length of the school year and enrollment requirements. -
Board of Education vs. Topeka
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX9Dmo24_cc
In a Supreme Court ruling, Justice Warren wrote that “in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place,” as segregated schools are “inherently unequal.” In this decision, the court ruled that students were being “deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.” -
Park vs. Pennsylvania
The lawsuit of the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Children (PARC) v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania overturned established Pennsylvania law to ensure a quality education for all children. The case resulted the state agreeing to provide a free public education for children with mental retardation. This idea is now widely known as, FAPE. -
Mills vs. DC Board of Education
An attorney sued for 18,000 disabled children being denied public education without due process. The court reasoned that children have a right to a free and appropriate public education. In this case, the school board’s failure to meet the mandate could not be excused by the fact that insufficient funds were available to pay for services the children needed.
The court decided that the inadequacies of a school system could not be allowed to impact more heavily on students with disabilities. -
Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA)
This act requires that public schools accepting federal funds provide an education for children with physical and mental disabilities. Children with disabilities must be evaluated and an educational plan must be developed with parent input. Under this act, parents of disabled children may dispute decisions about their children’s education. Perhaps most importantly, the act created a provision that disabled students should be placed in the least restrictive environment. -
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
https://sites.ed.gov/idea/about-idea/ This law makes a free appropriate public education available to eligible children with disabilities and ensures special education and related services. IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities. -
ADA Amendments Act
This act establishes what constitutes a disability, especially mental disabilities like ASD. The effect makes it easier for individuals to establish that he or she has a disability within the meaning of the ADA.
Under this legislation, it became reasonable to expect that there would be an increase in students eligible for 504 plans and due process claims related to allergies, diabetes, ADD/ADHD, and other impairments. -
No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
NCLB includes increased accountability for states and school districts. It requires statewide accountability systems in all public schools based on challenging state standards in reading and mathematics. It requires annual testing for all students in grades 3-8 and requires that all groups of students reach proficiency within 12 years. Assessment results are viewed through lenses of poverty, race, ethnicity, disability, and limited English proficiency.
